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Example research essay topic: Civil Rights Movement African American Population - 1,278 words

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All Presidents have faced the challenge of keeping people united in times of conflict and turmoil; this specifically applied to Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. They were faced with solving delicate situations involving segregation and the civil rights of American citizens in two different centuries. While there has been the enduring impression that both presidents held high ideals with regard to the African American population, a closer examination of history could lead one to believe that Lincoln was the false freer of the enslaved and Kennedy was the false figurehead for the Civil Rights movement. Abraham Lincoln entered his first term as president following the leaders Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Pierce was known as an outspoken critic of federal involvement in state and locale issues (web).

His veto of a bill which would have provided services and support for the mentally handicapped established the rationale behind government un involvement in public health issues into the twentieth century (web). This climate of governmental un involvement persisted into the term of James Buchanan, a time well-known for the Dred Scott decision, which stated that congress had no constitutional power to deprive persons of their property rights in slaves in the territories (web). Later, Buchanan reverted to a policy of inactivity that continued until he left office (web). Therefore, upon entering office, Lincoln found the stage set for an uphill climb with a sharply divided country and a government unused to active leadership by a president whose main agenda was to unite the country, even if this meant an involvement in previously untouchable states rights.

The issue of slavery was at the center of the controversies, and decisions in the previous two administrations only compounded the difficulties encountered in any actions that Lincoln might make. The issue of segregation continued even up to one hundred years later when Kennedy became president following Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. However, unlike Pierce and Buchanan, the decisions and actions of both of these presidents should have made any stand that Kennedy would take for the civil rights movement easier.

After World War Two had ended, Truman proposed twenty-one main policy points for the betterment of America in an attempt to calm the unrest among the American workers, as this was a time of many labor strikes and problems involving citizens who were unsatisfied with the economy. These twenty-one points included innovations such as minimum wage, guaranteed employment, medical insurance, housing aid, improving benefits for war veterans, and price and wage controls. However, congress disapproved of these because most republicans and even some democrats had begun to view social welfare programs as unnecessary giveaways (web). Although Truman was not able to persuade congress to side with him, he was able to make many advances concerning the issues that surrounded the African American population of the United States. For example, he ordered an investigation into Americas racial problems and staffed the committee with civil rights advocates, who, in their final report, called for drastic changes in civil rights policy (web). In 1947 he created the Fair Employment Act and, by executive order, the Committee for the Desegregation of the Armed Forces, in an attempt to stop discrimination in the military and work area.

Eisenhower was also involved in paving the difficult path of the civil rights movement, as can be seen by the incidence in Little Rock, Arkansas after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision was reached. The Arkansas Governorjoined local whites in resisting integration by dispatching the Arkansas National Guard to block the nine black students from entering the school Eisenhower responded by sending federal troops to protect the students[this] showed America that the president could and would enforce court orders with federal troops (web). With Lincoln entering his first term just before the beginning of the Civil War, and during a period in time that was already very tense for the American people concerning the matter of segregation, any stand he would take for or against the freedom of slaves would be a very difficult one to uphold. It was assumed by many that he was an advocate of freeing the slaves, as he was a republican and many of his political enemies made him out to be an abolitionist. However, this thought was stricken from the publics mind when, in his Inaugural Address, he stated: I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institutions of slavery in the States where it exists.

I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so (web). Many historians believe that Lincoln did not actually care whether slavery was ended or not, or if he presided over a country where all men are equal, but that he used this as a face for public and political purposes. This view can be supported by many of Lincolns statements, such as: I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about the social and political equality of the white and black races I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race (web). Some historians believe that, although Lincoln did not view the abolishment of slavery as a means of creating a nation in which all men are equal, he may have seen it as the means by which he could save the Union. In fact, the salvation of the Union was his main objective after the beginning of the Civil War, as can be seen in his response to a letter written to him by Horace Greeley in which he stated: My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery.

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about Slavery and the colored race, I do because it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help save the Union (web). The most likely explanation for the creation of Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation springs from his desire to end the war and preserve the union. Although his intentions drastically contrasted his personal position on slavery as stated in his Inaugural Address, Lincoln realized that the end of slavery was the best political solution on order to guarantee his re-election by the new Republican Party. However, Lincoln could not be certain the slavery issue would not have an irreversible negative outcome. His contradictory position may be best illustrated by the fact that the Proclamation targeted the Confederate States of America, where the new laws could not be enforced because the Confederate States of America believed itself to be a sovereign nation.

Just as Lincoln began his first term as president during a time of conflict and debate over the issue of segregation, so did Kennedy; and, just as Lincolns stand on slavery was often contradictory as his actions and words did not always coincide, Kennedys stand on the Civil Rights Movement was also often debatable. Although he publicly claimed to be an advocate of the Civil Rig...


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